Patrick Chesnais
- 2008
A one hit wonder and a woman who lives for his lone hit song meet three decades after he dropped off the hit parade in this comedy drama. Bruno Caprice (Patrick Chesnais) had a brief fling with fame in the Seventies; he was a singer whose lone hit single "Quand tu t'en vas" hit the top of the charts across Europe. But after a couple years, Bruno's career dried up and today he's all but forgotten, working as a clerk at a hotel in Paris. But Bruno has at least one loyal fan left -- Randa Hafouche (Julia Kassar), who grew up in Lebanon while the nation was being torn apart by civil war. Bruno played a concert in Beirut which is one of the few joyous memories of Randa's youth, and now that she's married to a man who has made a fortune in the coffee trade, Randa still can't get "Quand tu t'en vas" out of her head. When her husband plans a lavish party for Randa's birthday, she makes a special request -- invite Bruno to perform at the affair. Bruno, in need of an ego boost, is more than happy to accept the gig, but while Randa is clearly drawn to the one-time star and shares with him the story of the concert that changed her life, he can't recall ever playing a show in Lebanon. Une chanson dans la tete (aka Melodrama Habibi) is the first feature film from writer and director Hany Tamba. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Chesnais, Pierette Katrib, (more)
- 2008
Laetitia Casta stars in director Gilles Legrand's drama concerning an Edwardian-era woman whose fate becomes permanently intertwined with that of the last wolf pack on Mount Blanc. Angele is a young girl who lives in a French Alpine town with her father Leon (Patrick Chesnais), the local taxidermist. Shortly after Leon receives a slaughtered pack of wolves, young Angele notices an orphaned black cub descending from the mountains in search of his family. Angele may be young but she realizes what fate will befall the cub if he is caught, so she quietly releases him back into the wild. Years later, World War I has come and gone, and local foundry owners the Garcins have struck it rich. Albert Garcin (Michel Galabru) is not only the family patriarch, but Angele's godfather as well. A benevolent and generous soul, Albert has given a local gypsy and her developmentally disabled son Guiseppe (Stefano Accorsi) a lifetime lease on a modest mountain shack. Giuseppe guards the surviving wolves with his life, taking a special shine to the black pack leader he names Carbone. Angele is all grown up now, and longs to become a veterinarian who specializes in undomesticated animals. Though the local men scoff at the idea of a female veteran, Angele knows her connection with nature is true. In order to gain some experience Angele recruits circus owner Zhormov (Miglen Mirtchev) to fly her into the mountains that tower above her hometown. During the course of their journey, however, the plan crashes and Angele is forced to wait as Zhormov searches for help. But sometimes help arrives in the most unexpected of forms, such as the black wolf that recognizes Angele's scent from back when he was just a frightened pup. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laetitia Casta, Jean-Paul Rouve, (more)
- 2007
Turkish directors The Taylan Brothers (Yagmar and Durul) co-helm The Little Apocalypse, a psychological thriller with a distinctly supernatural twinge. The Taylans weave the narrative around the August 17, 1999 earthquake that rocked Istanbul and massacred thousands. The story opens with an extended family - husband and wife Zeki (Cansel Elcin) and Bilge (Koklukaya), their infant son, their school-age daughter Eda (Serra Gurgunlu) and their nanny Filiz (Binnur Kaya) piling into the family car en route to a holiday in Fethive, southwestern Turkey, where they plan to connect with Bilge's niece and nephew. On the way, however, tragedy strikes in the form of the earthquake. Everyone seemingly emerges unscathed and uninjured, but upon arrival at the resort, a number of seemingly inexplicable catastrophes transpire: the "resort" is built on a mosquito infested swamp, next to a graveyard with the names of the family members on the gravestones; bloodthirsty wolves turn up at night to plague the area; and the locals act decidedly odd. Meanwhile, Bilge begins to suffer from recurrent, terror-stricken nightmares about her dead mother. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michaël Youn, Patrick Chesnais, (more)
- 2007
- PG13
- AddThe Diving Bell and the Butterflyto QueueAddThe Diving Bell and the Butterflyto top of Queue
The astonishing true-life story of Jean-Dominic Bauby -- a man who held the world in his palm, lost everything to sudden paralysis at 43 years old, and somehow found the strength to rebound -- first touched the world in Bauby's best-selling autobiography The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (aka La Scaphandre et la Papillon), then in Jean-Jacques Beineix's half-hour 1997 documentary of Bauby at work, released under the same title, and, ten years after that, in this Cannes-selected docudrama, helmed by Julian Schnabel (Basquiat) and adapted from the memoir by Ronald Harwood (Cromwell). The Schnabel/Harwood picture follows Bauby's story to the letter -- his instantaneous descent from a wealthy and congenial playboy and the editor of French Elle, to a bed-bound, hospitalized stroke victim with an inactive brain stem that made it impossible for him to speak or move a muscle of his body. This prison, as it were, became a kind of "diving bell" for Bauby -- one with no means of escape. With the editor's mind unaffected, his only solace lay in the "butterfly" of his seemingly depthless fantasies and memories. Because of Bauby's physical restriction, he only possessed one channel for communication with the outside world: ocular activity. By moving his eyes and blinking, he not only began to interact again with the world around him, but -- astonishingly -- authored the said memoir via a code used to signify specific letters of the alphabet. In Schnabel's picture, Mathieu Amalric tackles the difficult role of Bauby; the film co-stars Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze, Anne Consigny, and Patrick Chesnais. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, (more)
- 2006
A talented trompe l'oeil artist finds her dedication to her slacker husband slipping until the aimless but amiable spouse develops an invention that could lead bring the pair fame and fortune in writer/director Michel Leclerc's breezy romantic comedy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elsa Zylberstein, Kad Merad, (more)
- 2005
A weary "hussier de justice" whose job it is to deliver the paperwork preceding eviction and seizure of property forges a warm but tenuous relationship with a doubtful bride-to-be in director Stephane Brize's melancholy slice of life drama. Jean-Claude is a dreary soul who inherited the thankless family business from his prickly, widowed father. Every Sunday the devoted son dutifully visits his elderly father in the nearby rest home, where the old man passes his time by heckling his put upon caretakers, and one day Jean-Claude notices a dance studio directly across from his drab office. Hoping that a tango lesson will provide the required jolt needed to shake him free of his midlife funk, the depressive Jean-Claude enrolls in a class only to find that one of his fellow students is a young woman for whom his mother once babysat. The bride-to-be of a teacher who has taken time out of the classroom to finish his ambitious first novel, the young woman is taking tango lessons in order to be properly prepared for her impending wedding. As a friendly bond develops between the pair over the course of the lessons, it soon becomes obvious that both are missing a crucial element of happiness in their lives. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Chesnais, Anne Consigny, (more)
- 2002
Irene (Cecile de France) is a cute but klutzy thirtysomething who hasn't had a romantic relationship in four years. Tired of circumstantial celibacy, the paralegal consistently finds herself drawn to unavailable men, particularly her co-worker Luca (Olivier Sitruk). Her friends, all passionately single, offer no support to Irene's plight. Meanwhile, Francois (Bruno Putzulu), an easygoing handyman Irene had hired to paint her apartment, turns out to be her perfect match. Though it looks like Irene may be too wrapped up in translating the signals sent to her from various male co-workers to notice Francois, she eventually comes to see what has been in front of her all along. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cécile De France, Bruno Putzulu, (more)
- 2002
Lies, betrayal, lust, and ennui are just a few of the themes at work in this knowing and urbane dissection of modern love and relationships, which follows the romantic pursuits of four disparate couples. Gabrielle is a shy but attractive librarian who falls for Remy, a seductive rake. Vanessa is a beautician who decides to shack up with Gerard, a significantly older professor of literature who compounds his loftiness by smoking a pipe. Then there's Brigitte, a rather bodacious woman who charms the pants off the younger Claude at a gallery opening. Finally, there is Cyril, an average Joe who falls in love with the stunningly beautiful Anick, and can't quite believe his luck. Director Eric Assous uses the ins and outs of all four couples to examine the never-ending battle of the sexes with humor, drama, and a keen eye for the nuances of gender politics. Very Opposite Sexes had its North American premiere at the 2002 Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlotte de Turckheim, Patrick Chesnais, (more)
- 2002
Directed by Rémi Waterhouse, Mille Millièmes is centered around an eccentric ensemble of apartment residents. Kindness is noticeably absent among their quarters, as demonstrated by a dating pair of neighbors (Jean-Pierre Darroussin and Valérie Stroh) whose request to have their apartments connected was flatly denied. To make matters worse, beggars gathering at a charity event are cruelly tormented by various tenants during the Christmas season. Last but not least is the Portuguese concierge (Luis Rego) whose services are in danger of being replaced by a more cost-effective alternative, and a widow whose recent loss earns her no sympathy from the rent-demanding landlords. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Chesnais, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, (more)
- 2001
Can a man find true love with a woman who could easily do a lot better? Octave (Patrick Chesnais) would seem to fit most people's working definition of a loser -- even though he's over 50, he doesn't have a steady job, still lives with his mother (Micheline Presle), and spends most of his time with his friends Achille (Bernard Crombey) and Hector (Jean-Francois Balmer), with whom he plays in a none too impressive jazz combo. But Octave has self-confidence and charm to spare, and he decides to put them to work when he meets Esther (Alexandra Vandernoot). Octave is immediately smitten with Esther, though she's hardly taken with him at first, probably owing to the fact that he'd just run is car into hers. Esther is a successful artist about two decades Octave's junior, and she has a stylish flat and a handsome boyfriend (Samuel Labarthe), hardly needing someone like Octave in her life. But Octave isn't about to give up, and his willingness to do almost anything to get Esther's attention -- including jumping into the Seine -- eventually makes her warm to her curious new suitor. Charmant Garcon was the first feature directed by noted actor Patrick Chesnais, who also starred as Octave. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Chesnais, Alexandra Van Der Noot, (more)
- 1999
In Oscar-winning director Sam Karmann's feature debut, full-time novelist Simon (Jean-Pierre Bacri) slowly slides off the deep end. Bored and thoroughly self-absorbed, he spends more of his time playing with a revolver and performing oral surgery on himself than on his writing. In a series of morosely defiant voice-overs, Simon ridicules everything from his grown children who he thinks he never should have bothered with fathering to his wife who is having an affair with an ears, nose, and throat specialist. In his tedium, he becomes obsessed with his psychologist's watch, supposedly the very watch that John F. Kennedy had on his wrist the day he was assassinated. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Pierre Bacri, Nicole Garcia, (more)
- 1997
A middle-aged woman temporarily abandons her role as wife and mother to embark upon a mad love affair with a man 20 years her junior. Up until the time she meets handsome young Emilio, Diane Clovier had a relatively happy life with her husband, kids and career. Emilio, with his amoral charm, is the antithesis of her life and Diane throws herself into a heated frenzy of lovemaking and romance with him. She shows little regard for the destruction she causes within her family. Her husband Phillipe, a lawyer, finds out about the affair, but does nothing to stop it in the hope that she will come to her senses. But as her relationship with Emilio grows hotter, it looks as if Diane may be lost forever. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Roüan, Patrick Chesnais, (more)
- 1993
Helene (Anemone) is looking for her love of 25 years ago. She is 43 now, was 18 then. She has returned to the last place she saw him, a large house in the country. Once there, she finds Ariane making love to Matthieu. Matthieu is Sabine's husband; Sabine is younger than he is, she wants a child, Matthieu doesn't. Also at the time Helene arrives, she finds Lena leaning on a door, in tears. she has a lover 23 years younger than her, named Marc. Lena also has a child, Michel, a bright lad. The household also includes Cecile, who thought she was invited to babysit someone, and instead sits at the piano playing light classical tunes by the composer Gottschalk. When Helene is able to get the attention of these busy people, she confides her purpose to them, and in this bedroom farce they all agree to do whatever they can to help her. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anémone, Xavier Beauvois, (more)
- 1993
After her gynecologist tells her that her current involuntary celibacy could result in her being unable to enjoy sex in the future, Eva (Evelyne Dress) begins to consider ways that she could take active steps to get some action going in that area. Unfortunately, none of the men she currently knows are interested in going to bed with her, including her business partner, who just might be sexually attracted to trees but certainly isn't to her. That being the case, it is particularly galling that he gets jealous at the very notion of her having sex with business clients. Eva discusses these issues (and a great deal more) with her similarly forty-ish gal-pals. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Evelyne Dress, Patrick Chesnais, (more)
- 1992
It is a commonplace that past actions affect our present circumstances. This ambitious movie attempts to show how truly distant actions from former lives affect the subsequent lives of the protagonists. In the story, beginning in Roman times, a wanderer (Gerard Lanvin) miraculously tames some wild bees for a group of lepers, who are killed shortly after that by Roman soldiers. In modern times, a group of gypsies enjoy their communal life, full of dancing and merriment, and have a strong affinity for horses. At the same time, a genial female con-artist (Beatrice Dalle) is putting her boyfriend on a plane. When a handsome gypsy (the wanderer in his former life) meets the con-artist (one of the lepers in her former life), it is love at first sight. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Lanvin, Béatrice Dalle, (more)
- 1992
After years of increasing boredom in her marriage, architect Emily (Cecilia Peck) gets her husband (Patrick Chesnais) to play at being a superspy to spice things up. This gives him a perfect excuse to put on a bright yellow hat and coat and make like Dick Tracy. It also gives some real-life spies the excuse they need to embroil the couple in some pretty hair-raising adventures. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cecilia Peck, Patrick Chesnais, (more)
- 1991
Nathalie is a lawyer, and a good one. She defends poor creeps like Nicolas (Patrick Chesnais) against the well-paid lawyers of big corporations. Curiously, she has no problem being the girlfriend of one of those well-paid lawyers. However, Nicolas is a special case: he lost everything he had either personally or professionally as a result of corporate callousness, and when he became suicidal, she invited him into her life and her bed. Once Nicolas overcomes the urge to commit suicide, he becomes consumed with the possibility of getting, if not justice, at least revenge on those who ruined him. In this comedy, he comes very near to getting his wish. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Chesnais, Cecile Pallas, (more)
- 1991
To a non-French speaker, the word La Pagaille looks charming, elegant, even tidy. However, it means "a mess," and a mess is just what the happily divorced Martin gets into when he and his ex-wife Brigitte, the mother of his children, rekindle their long-dormant relationship and announce that they intend to move back in together. Not only do the children find this whole thing confusing, but the husband's and the wife's lovers are equally befuddled. Add to that the need for Martin to meet Brigitte's lover and vice-versa, and you have the beginnings of a mess. When it begins to seem to Brigitte's former lover that he has offended the Muslims with a book he translated and he is slated for death, the whole thing grows yet more complicated. In this comedy, this list only scratches the surface of the messes these people must confront. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rémy Girard, Coralie Seyrig, (more)
- 1991
Very few people know that Pierre Marroux (Yves Montand) is the father of the famous terrorist Netchaiev (Vincent Lindon), and that's the way he likes to keep it. His boy is now presumed to be dead, and he has a job to do, protecting the safety of those who pay him. However, the boy has recently returned to Paris with a group on an operation. Netchaiev is tired of being a hunted man and is shopping his potential confession around for the best deal. This puts him at odds with his colleagues past and present, and his life is in great danger. When Pierre learns of the situation, he tries to use his skills to find his son before his killers do. Along the way, he learns that the French government has a very shady deal with the terrorists, and it wants Netchaiev dead, too. This thriller is based on a novel by Jacques Semprun. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Lindon, Yves Montand, (more)
- 1990
In this somewhat odd exploration of human romantic difficulties, the people in the film are all put under extra stress by the fact that on the day in question, they have lost an hour to daylight savings time. In addition, it is a full moon. Neither factor improves their response to the mild stresses they experience, which have been building up for several years. The beginning of the film shows a number of couples getting married, and follows them and a few others a few years later, on the day of the time change. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Lanvin, Patrick Chesnais, (more)
